The votes are in! We celebrated our North Devon AONB Wild Shorts film competition nominees and winners and thanked project partners, sponsors and funders at the inaugural Wild Shorts Awards in Barnstaple last Friday.

North Devon Moving Image ran the Wild Shorts competition between May and November 2016 with the aim of raising awareness of the North Devon Coast Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). ​

“Entries came in from new and experienced film makers of all ages and the quality and variety of subject and creative style was impressive.” Says NDMI Creative Director, Amanda McCormack who hosted the Oscars-style Wild Shorts Awards ceremony in Barnstaple on 20 January 2017.

Twenty year old film student Rhys Harris, who travelled from Cornwall to North Devon to make his Wild Short, Places Afar, won both first prize in the Adults category and the overall Judges’ Choice Award.

Kathryn Jeffs, a Senior Producer at the BBC’s Natural History Unit was on the Wild Shorts judging panel. She praised Places Afar, saying “Loved this film. Intriguing opening, beautifully filmed, captured my attention immediately. This had visual flare married beautifully with spoken word. Contemplative, well paced, expansive and thoughtful. I could watch on loop. Wonderful!”

Rhys was delighted with the outcome “Winning the competition was a huge boost of confidence for me. The fact that something I made was able to win something means that I must be doing something right! I had a great time attending the awards show and I can't stress enough how thankful I am to everyone involved. Now I have the spike in motivation to go and make something new!"

The Wild Shorts project which included film making workshops for families, school children and adults was funded by the North Devon Coast AONB, Fullabrook CIC and the Tarka Country Trust. “The films produced for the Wild Shorts competition show how the Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty provide a feast of the senses for all those who visit and enjoy them.” said AONB Manager Jenny Carey-Wood. “From the tastes of wild fruit and fungi, the feel of sand and shells, the sounds of seabirds and streams, the sight of the sea and sky and the views out to Lundy and inland to the heaths and woodlands. This project has comprehensively achieved the objectives of our Sustainable Development Fund by reaching new people and increasing understanding and awareness of the AONB.”

​North Devon Moving Image CIC (NDMI) wants your Wild Shorts! The local community film making organisation is calling for submissions of short films - between 2 and 4 minutes - about the wildlife and environment within the North Devon Coast Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

The North Devon Coast AONB is designated to protect and conserve our beautiful and diverse coastal landscapes between the Hartland Peninsula and the edge of Exmoor. Amanda McCormack, Creative Director of NDMI, says "We want local people and visitors to capture the special nature of the area on video."

"We are hoping to see films about plants and animals, habitats, landscapes, conservation and just getting out and enjoying the beautiful coast and countryside. The competition is open to all ages - families, schools, young film makers and adults - with exciting prizes for the winning film makers in each category."

The Wild Shorts film making competition is open for entries until Wednesday 30 November 2016 and the competition terms and conditions and details on how to enter are on the NDMI website at www.northdevonmovingimage.org.uk.

To add a helping hand NDMI will be running a limited number of film making workshops for schools, families and community groups. The first event will be for families and will take place at the Braunton Countryside Centre on Sunday 31 July 2016. Additionally there will be some informal 'cafe style' events where people can drop in and get advice on film making techniques and equipment. North Devon Moving Image is delighted to be a Creative Champion in BBC's Get Creative campaign and hope that new film makers young and old will discover new skills and get creative with Wild Shorts.

Caroline Leaver, Member of the Partnership that oversee the AONB commented"The coast of Northern Devon really is Outstandingly beautiful. It is contains some amazing scenery, wildlife and a range of world class beaches and coastal environments. The North Devon AONB Board is thrilled to be able to support the Wild Shorts competition, which will showcase some of what makes this area so special. We'd love to see entries from film makers of all ages, showing wildlife, habitats and what people enjoy about our coastline. North Devon Moving Image will be running training courses locally too, so its a great chance to learn new skills."